2 aug 2020
Judge orders Yair Netanyahu to stop harassing demonstrators against his father for the next 6 months after he posted their addresses and encouraged followers to picket their homes
A Jerusalem court ordered on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son to stop "harassing" the organizers of protests calling for his father's ouster.
Yair Netanyahu tweeted the personal addresses of the organizers of the protests outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Thursday and called for similar demonstrations outside their homes.
"I invite everyone to demonstrate, day and night, in front of the houses of these people who organize anarchy in our country," he tweeted.
For many weeks, protests have been taking place almost daily across Israel, including outside the home of the premier who was indicted in November 2019 for corruption, fraud and breach of trust in three cases - a first for an incumbent Israeli prime minister.
Protesters called for Netanyahu's departure from office and denounced the government's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.
A Jerusalem court ordered on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son to stop "harassing" the organizers of protests calling for his father's ouster.
Yair Netanyahu tweeted the personal addresses of the organizers of the protests outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Thursday and called for similar demonstrations outside their homes.
"I invite everyone to demonstrate, day and night, in front of the houses of these people who organize anarchy in our country," he tweeted.
For many weeks, protests have been taking place almost daily across Israel, including outside the home of the premier who was indicted in November 2019 for corruption, fraud and breach of trust in three cases - a first for an incumbent Israeli prime minister.
Protesters called for Netanyahu's departure from office and denounced the government's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yair Netanyahu's tweet exposing private information of protest organizers
Justice Dorit Feinstein demanded the tweet be deleted and added in her ruling that Yair Netanyahu must "cease harassing protest organizers for six months and no longer publish their private addresses."
In reaction, the Prime Minister's son, aged 29 and familiar with provocations on social media, published a tweet criticizing the judge for not having taken into account "the death threats he received aimed at him."
His father denounced in a statement "all acts of violence and harassment."
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu accused the local press of mobilizing against him, comparing it to the press in North Korea.
"I do not hear any condemnation from the media against the violent nature of the demonstrations. Instead of covering the demonstrations, the press is mobilizing in favor of the protesters," he said.
On Saturday, his party Likud said on Twitter that the media "are desperately trying to poison the public, in order to bring down a strong right-wing prime minister."
Justice Dorit Feinstein demanded the tweet be deleted and added in her ruling that Yair Netanyahu must "cease harassing protest organizers for six months and no longer publish their private addresses."
In reaction, the Prime Minister's son, aged 29 and familiar with provocations on social media, published a tweet criticizing the judge for not having taken into account "the death threats he received aimed at him."
His father denounced in a statement "all acts of violence and harassment."
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu accused the local press of mobilizing against him, comparing it to the press in North Korea.
"I do not hear any condemnation from the media against the violent nature of the demonstrations. Instead of covering the demonstrations, the press is mobilizing in favor of the protesters," he said.
On Saturday, his party Likud said on Twitter that the media "are desperately trying to poison the public, in order to bring down a strong right-wing prime minister."
In a six-minute rant at the cabinet meeting, PM accused the media of 'a distorted, Soviet-like mobilization' to justify the protests while ignoring alleged calls 'to murder the prime minister and his family'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed on Sunday at swelling protests against his rule, saying they are egged on by a biased media that distorts facts and cheers on the demonstrators. video
Netanyahu has faced a wave of protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for the long-serving, indicted leader to resign and panning his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu has painted the protests as dens of “anarchists” and “leftists” out to topple “a strong right-wing leader.”
The protests have largely been peaceful. In some cases, they have ended with clashes between demonstrators and police. In others, small gangs of Netanyahu supporters and individuals affiliated with far-right groups have assaulted demonstrators.
In a six-minute rant at a meeting of his cabinet, Netanyahu slammed the media for “inflaming” the protests and for misrepresenting incidents of violence against the protesters.
“There has never been such a distorted mobilization - I wanted to say Soviet but it has already reached North Korean terms - of the media in favor of the protests,” he said.
Netanyahu said the media ignored “wild and unfettered incitement, including daily calls — including the day before yesterday — to murder the prime minister and his family.”
He said the protests were breeding grounds for the virus that were being allowed to take place with no limits, shutting down streets and neighborhoods. He said right-wing protests have not been given such free rein.
He condemned violence “from all sides” at the start of his remarks before tearing into the media he has long viewed as hostile toward him.
Also at the cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is the country’s “alternate” prime minister under a power-sharing deal, said the protests must be allowed to take place with protesters shielded from violence.
“The right to protest is the lifeblood of democracy and violence is the erosion of the foundation of democracy,” he said.
Netanyahu’s tirade came as his son Yair Netanyahu was summoned to a Jerusalem court after tweeting the names, addresses and phone numbers of prominent protesters, calling his followers to demonstrate outside their homes “day and night.” The court granted the 28-year-old Netanyahu an exemption from appearing in court. Protesters said they received threatening calls after the tweet.
Throughout the summer, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets, calling for Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country’s coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. Though Netanyahu has tried to play down the protests, the twice-a-week gatherings show no signs of slowing and Saturday night’s Jerusalem gathering drew more than 10,000 people. video
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed on Sunday at swelling protests against his rule, saying they are egged on by a biased media that distorts facts and cheers on the demonstrators. video
Netanyahu has faced a wave of protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for the long-serving, indicted leader to resign and panning his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu has painted the protests as dens of “anarchists” and “leftists” out to topple “a strong right-wing leader.”
The protests have largely been peaceful. In some cases, they have ended with clashes between demonstrators and police. In others, small gangs of Netanyahu supporters and individuals affiliated with far-right groups have assaulted demonstrators.
In a six-minute rant at a meeting of his cabinet, Netanyahu slammed the media for “inflaming” the protests and for misrepresenting incidents of violence against the protesters.
“There has never been such a distorted mobilization - I wanted to say Soviet but it has already reached North Korean terms - of the media in favor of the protests,” he said.
Netanyahu said the media ignored “wild and unfettered incitement, including daily calls — including the day before yesterday — to murder the prime minister and his family.”
He said the protests were breeding grounds for the virus that were being allowed to take place with no limits, shutting down streets and neighborhoods. He said right-wing protests have not been given such free rein.
He condemned violence “from all sides” at the start of his remarks before tearing into the media he has long viewed as hostile toward him.
Also at the cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is the country’s “alternate” prime minister under a power-sharing deal, said the protests must be allowed to take place with protesters shielded from violence.
“The right to protest is the lifeblood of democracy and violence is the erosion of the foundation of democracy,” he said.
Netanyahu’s tirade came as his son Yair Netanyahu was summoned to a Jerusalem court after tweeting the names, addresses and phone numbers of prominent protesters, calling his followers to demonstrate outside their homes “day and night.” The court granted the 28-year-old Netanyahu an exemption from appearing in court. Protesters said they received threatening calls after the tweet.
Throughout the summer, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets, calling for Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country’s coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. Though Netanyahu has tried to play down the protests, the twice-a-week gatherings show no signs of slowing and Saturday night’s Jerusalem gathering drew more than 10,000 people. video
18 july 2020
Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, Ishaq Sidr, said today that the Ministry is mulling the possibility of adopting an alternative search engine to the internet search giant, Google, in response to the latter's removal of Palestine from its maps.
A heated public campaign was launched yesterday after Google and Apple removed the name of Palestine from their online maps, with more than one million users singing a petition demanding the two to expressly mention Palestine in their maps.
Sidr said the removal of Palestine from the two giants' maps means a blind bias for the Israeli occupation and its violations of Palestinian human rights.
He said the Ministry has developed multiple steps to deal with the removal of the name of Palestine, including applying pressure on the two giants through their servers that are used by some Palestinian companies.
In addition, Sidr pointed out a crisis cell was created by the Ministry to address the legal steps to be taken in response to the foregoing, including filing lawsuits with the competent international bodies, given the fact that the removal of the name of an internationally recognized state violates international laws and legislation, as well as the relevant UN resolutions.
"For a while, the Ministry has been reaching out to Google, Facebook and other companies to pressure and compel them to respect the Palestinian narrative and content, but their response is not as required," said the Telecommunications Minister.
Sidr stressed that the government is encouraging the role of trade unions, popular resistance and the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) Movement in pressuring the two giants to refrain from this unfair step.
In the meantime, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riad al-Malki, said the government is considering the necessary legal procedures to respond to Google and Apple's removal of the name of Palestine from their maps.
He said work is underway to identify the international body that Palestine will file this issue with. Al-Malki added that this will make it easy for the Palestinian government to prosecute officials of the two giants in the event they insisted on violating international law.
"They [Google and Apple] were certainly wrong when they dealt with Palestine with this intended political underestimation," said the Foreign Minister.
A heated public campaign was launched yesterday after Google and Apple removed the name of Palestine from their online maps, with more than one million users singing a petition demanding the two to expressly mention Palestine in their maps.
Sidr said the removal of Palestine from the two giants' maps means a blind bias for the Israeli occupation and its violations of Palestinian human rights.
He said the Ministry has developed multiple steps to deal with the removal of the name of Palestine, including applying pressure on the two giants through their servers that are used by some Palestinian companies.
In addition, Sidr pointed out a crisis cell was created by the Ministry to address the legal steps to be taken in response to the foregoing, including filing lawsuits with the competent international bodies, given the fact that the removal of the name of an internationally recognized state violates international laws and legislation, as well as the relevant UN resolutions.
"For a while, the Ministry has been reaching out to Google, Facebook and other companies to pressure and compel them to respect the Palestinian narrative and content, but their response is not as required," said the Telecommunications Minister.
Sidr stressed that the government is encouraging the role of trade unions, popular resistance and the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) Movement in pressuring the two giants to refrain from this unfair step.
In the meantime, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riad al-Malki, said the government is considering the necessary legal procedures to respond to Google and Apple's removal of the name of Palestine from their maps.
He said work is underway to identify the international body that Palestine will file this issue with. Al-Malki added that this will make it easy for the Palestinian government to prosecute officials of the two giants in the event they insisted on violating international law.
"They [Google and Apple] were certainly wrong when they dealt with Palestine with this intended political underestimation," said the Foreign Minister.
Almost one million people have signed a petition calling on the internet search engine giant, Google, to put Palestine on its maps.
"Palestine does not appear on Google maps. Why not? Israel, established on Palestinian land, is clearly designated. But there is no mention of Palestine. According to Google, Palestine does not exist," wrote the petition.
"The omission of Palestine is a grievous insult to the people of Palestine and undermines the efforts of the millions of people who are involved in the campaign to secure Palestinian independence and freedom from Israeli occupation and oppression."
The petition stressed the importance of having Palestine in the Google Maps since it is regarded as definitive by people around the world, including journalists, students and others carrying out research into the Israel-Palestine situation.
"Whether intentionally or otherwise, Google is making itself complicit in the Israeli government's ethnic cleansing of Palestine," said the petitioners, calling on Google "to recognize Palestine in Google Maps, and to clearly designate and identify the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel."
"Palestine does not appear on Google maps. Why not? Israel, established on Palestinian land, is clearly designated. But there is no mention of Palestine. According to Google, Palestine does not exist," wrote the petition.
"The omission of Palestine is a grievous insult to the people of Palestine and undermines the efforts of the millions of people who are involved in the campaign to secure Palestinian independence and freedom from Israeli occupation and oppression."
The petition stressed the importance of having Palestine in the Google Maps since it is regarded as definitive by people around the world, including journalists, students and others carrying out research into the Israel-Palestine situation.
"Whether intentionally or otherwise, Google is making itself complicit in the Israeli government's ethnic cleansing of Palestine," said the petitioners, calling on Google "to recognize Palestine in Google Maps, and to clearly designate and identify the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel."
2 june 2020
21-year-old from northern Israel accused of publishing Facebook post calling for PM to be taken down, officers who 'are his slaves' to be killed; third time in two months prime minister has filed complaint over threats
Police on Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old soldier from northern Israel on suspicion of publishing a Facebook post calling to harm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the third case of alleged incitement against the premier in less than two months.
The Israel Police cyber crimes division opened an investigation into the matter and the suspect was due to appear at Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court for a remand hearing.
The suspect, who is a resident of a kibbutz in the western Galilee, wrote on Facebook: "There is a solution and it is bringing down Bibi [Netanyahu]. It already happened in the past that a prime minister was taken down for no just reason [an alleged reference to the murder of Yitzhak Rabin], and now we have a prime minister who is taking down his citizens. It is likely to happen again and rightfully so, and those cops who are his slaves also deserve to be stoned to death. That is the solution."
The soldier also shared other allegedly inciteful material on his Facebook page, among them posts calling for the prime minister and the police to be "burned."
He also shared conspiratorial material on Facebook, including a claim that people were having microchips implanted. Several of his posts have been removed from Facebook.
The arrest came a day after Netanyahu said he had filed a complaint with the police regarding a death threat made against him and his family.
In a post in Hebrew on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said the man threatening him and his family had described how he would carry out his scheme.
The prime minister included a screenshot of a comment that read: "We would march them to Zion Square [in Jerusalem] and chop off their heads then hang their headless bodies from the balcony."
In his first complaint, Netanyahu accused left-wing activist Haim Shadmi of threatening his eldest son, Yair.
Shadmi was seen in a clip posted on social media telling Yair Netanyahu: "One day you will no longer have a personal security detail." In another clip, he was heard advocating hurling a firebomb at the prime minister's residence.
Shadmi and two other activists were grilled by police following the incident but later released without charge.
After the complaint was made, Shadmi posted on social media that he had never intended to use any sort of violence nor would he ever advocate violence against anyone, "even against someone I find so despicable and who is destroying Israeli democracy."
Police on Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old soldier from northern Israel on suspicion of publishing a Facebook post calling to harm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the third case of alleged incitement against the premier in less than two months.
The Israel Police cyber crimes division opened an investigation into the matter and the suspect was due to appear at Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court for a remand hearing.
The suspect, who is a resident of a kibbutz in the western Galilee, wrote on Facebook: "There is a solution and it is bringing down Bibi [Netanyahu]. It already happened in the past that a prime minister was taken down for no just reason [an alleged reference to the murder of Yitzhak Rabin], and now we have a prime minister who is taking down his citizens. It is likely to happen again and rightfully so, and those cops who are his slaves also deserve to be stoned to death. That is the solution."
The soldier also shared other allegedly inciteful material on his Facebook page, among them posts calling for the prime minister and the police to be "burned."
He also shared conspiratorial material on Facebook, including a claim that people were having microchips implanted. Several of his posts have been removed from Facebook.
The arrest came a day after Netanyahu said he had filed a complaint with the police regarding a death threat made against him and his family.
In a post in Hebrew on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said the man threatening him and his family had described how he would carry out his scheme.
The prime minister included a screenshot of a comment that read: "We would march them to Zion Square [in Jerusalem] and chop off their heads then hang their headless bodies from the balcony."
In his first complaint, Netanyahu accused left-wing activist Haim Shadmi of threatening his eldest son, Yair.
Shadmi was seen in a clip posted on social media telling Yair Netanyahu: "One day you will no longer have a personal security detail." In another clip, he was heard advocating hurling a firebomb at the prime minister's residence.
Shadmi and two other activists were grilled by police following the incident but later released without charge.
After the complaint was made, Shadmi posted on social media that he had never intended to use any sort of violence nor would he ever advocate violence against anyone, "even against someone I find so despicable and who is destroying Israeli democracy."
1 june 2020
L-R: Benjamin, Avner, Sara and Yair Netanyahu
In Facebook post, Netanyahu displays image of message threatening to behead all four family members, calls on 'left-wing media, which never stops trying to remove me from office, [to] defend me against constant incitement'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he has filed a complaint with the police regarding a death threat was made against him and his family.
This is the second time the prime minister has filed such a complaint in the space of one month.
In a post in Hebrew on his Facebook page on Monday, Netanyahu said the man threatening him and his family had described how he would carry out his scheme.
The prime minister included a screenshot of a comment that read: "We would march them to Zion Square [in Jerusalem] and chop off their heads then hang their headless bodies from the balcony."
This is an apparent reference to Netanyahu's location on a balcony during a right-wing protest in the run-up to the 1995 murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, from where Netanyahu said he did not hear or see any incitement to murder the slain leader.
"When will the left-wing media, which never stops trying to remove me from office, finally defend me against the constant incitement directed at me and my family," Netanyahu wrote on Facebook on Monday.
In his previous complaint, Netanyahu singled out left-wing activist Haim Shadmi, for allegedly threatening the prime minister's eldest son, Yair.
Shadmi was seen in a clip posted on social media telling Yair Netanyahu: "One day you will no longer have a personal security detail." In another clip, he was heard advocating hurling a firebomb at the prime minister's residence.
Shadmi and two other activists were grilled by police following the incident but later released without charge.
After the complaint was made, Shadmi posted on social media that he had never intended to use any sort of violence nor would he ever advocate violence against anyone - "even against someone I find so despicable and who is destroying Israeli democracy."
In Facebook post, Netanyahu displays image of message threatening to behead all four family members, calls on 'left-wing media, which never stops trying to remove me from office, [to] defend me against constant incitement'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he has filed a complaint with the police regarding a death threat was made against him and his family.
This is the second time the prime minister has filed such a complaint in the space of one month.
In a post in Hebrew on his Facebook page on Monday, Netanyahu said the man threatening him and his family had described how he would carry out his scheme.
The prime minister included a screenshot of a comment that read: "We would march them to Zion Square [in Jerusalem] and chop off their heads then hang their headless bodies from the balcony."
This is an apparent reference to Netanyahu's location on a balcony during a right-wing protest in the run-up to the 1995 murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, from where Netanyahu said he did not hear or see any incitement to murder the slain leader.
"When will the left-wing media, which never stops trying to remove me from office, finally defend me against the constant incitement directed at me and my family," Netanyahu wrote on Facebook on Monday.
In his previous complaint, Netanyahu singled out left-wing activist Haim Shadmi, for allegedly threatening the prime minister's eldest son, Yair.
Shadmi was seen in a clip posted on social media telling Yair Netanyahu: "One day you will no longer have a personal security detail." In another clip, he was heard advocating hurling a firebomb at the prime minister's residence.
Shadmi and two other activists were grilled by police following the incident but later released without charge.
After the complaint was made, Shadmi posted on social media that he had never intended to use any sort of violence nor would he ever advocate violence against anyone - "even against someone I find so despicable and who is destroying Israeli democracy."